Page 312 of Dark Love

“What kind of cookies do you like?”

“Chocolate chip.”

“With or without nuts?”

Bone Crusher raises an eyebrow. “That’s not one question.”

“Fine. But you’ll be stuck with whatever I pick.” I move to stand up, but can’t because his arm is still wrapped around me. “Um…” My eyes move to the thick muscles of his arm that his suit is doing nothing to hide.

It slips off of me, leaving a whisper of cool air in its wake.

“Thank you again.” I stand up and walk away without tripping over my own two feet.

Friday Nights

Vex

Why don’t I pay an accountant to do this?

Because the last two stole from you.

“Vex.” Payne pokes his head in my office, letting in some of the music from the club below us.

“Yeah?”

“We just got a call from the Gatz’s security. They’re going to be ten minutes late for your meeting.”

Of course, they are. Why do I even provide safe spaces for stupid people to party? Because they pay me an even stupider amount of money for the privilege. “Is the VIP section readyfor them?”

“Yeah. We cleared the entire space out for their group. We have four servers and six bouncers waiting on their arrival. I will be overseeing them all night.”

“Good. How are sales tonight?” I walk over to the window and look out at the full club below us.

“Steady. We’re going to need to bring on an extra bartender next week to handle the crowds we’re expecting the celebrity DJ to draw.”

“Add two just to be safe. And four extra bouncers.” I hate celebrities. I absolutely despise them. But they’re a necessary evil to keep revenue up. “Any problems?”

“Nah. Tac is on the door. It’s been a relatively quiet night so far.”

Those scare me. Bad things happen on quiet nights. “I’m going to go spend some time downstairs.”

“Your table is free, as always.”

“Is Roxanna coming in tonight?”

“We broke up. She wanted a new car.”

“Another one?”

Payne shakes his head. “Driving last year’s model was embarrassing her.”

“Her loss.” They never last long. That’s why I stopped bothering with relationships long ago. Women see my money and power and think it can all be theirs.

The farther down the stairs I go, the louder the music gets. I step out of an unmarked door that’s right next to my private booth.

The view from here isn’t as all-encompassing as from my office, but it’ll do. The next business I open is going to be quiet.

My eyes scan the floor randomly.

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